Williamson Co. sheriff warns of 'phone scam'

Williamson County Sheriff Bennie Vick is warning residents of another phone scam that has been reported in our area.

Residents report receiving a call from a man who claims to be from Publisher's Clearing House. The man called the intended victim by name and knew the name of the intended victim's spouse as well. The man said they had won a prize from Publisher's Clearing House and asked when they would be home for the prize to be delivered.

Sheriff Vick said the caller ID showed the phone call was coming from Jamaica.

Publisher's Clearing House does not call ahead to schedule prize delivery.

Statements from the scammer about the "scheduling delivery" are an attempt to seem legitimate.

In other parts of the country, Sheriff Vick said scammers have tried to get the intended victim's address. They will then use a computer mapping program like Google Maps to use details about the victim's neighborhood to seem legitimate. Sometimes they use details from the neighborhood to try to intimidate an intended victim.

The goal of the scam is to convince the victim that they have won a prize, but must pay "processing fees" or "taxes" before the prize can be claimed. The scammers instruct the victims to use a Green Dot card or some type of prepaid card to send money to the scammer.

Sheriff Vick would like to remind everyone to never give out personal information, including your date of birth, social security number, bank account or credit card numbers, and your address over the phone to people you don't know.

He also suggests that anyone who wants any type of payment using a prepaid, anonymous card is not a legitimate business.